Wednesday, June 03, 2009
When you deliberately weave religion into government...
[...]
The only difference between the American anti-abortion movement and the Taliban is about 8000 miles.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
The rule of law trumps Cheney's yapping
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The Obama administration opens the manacles of the US criminal justice system and accomplishes something the Bush administration couldn't do by wiping its feet on the US constitution.
"Without a doubt, this case is a grim reminder of the seriousness of the threat we as a nation still face," Attorney-General Eric Holder said in a statement.And then listen to Rachel Maddow as she underlines the most significant point of Ali al-Marri's criminal prosecution. (Once the obnoxious little ad is over slide forward to minute 7)"But it also reflects what we can achieve when we have faith in our criminal justice system and are unwavering in our commitment to the values upon which the nation was founded, and the rule of law."
Ali al-Marri, who was the last remaining "enemy combatant" held on US soil, faces a maximum of 15 years in jail after admitting he conspired to provide material support to al-Qa'ida. He will be sentenced on July 30. It was not clear how much credit he would be given for time already served.
"He asked for his day in court, and he got his day in court with all the constitutional protections," Marri's lawyer, Jonathan Hafetz, said. "It's all he wanted."
As Michael Isikoff points out, the guilty plea of Ali al-Marri opens the doors for other prosecutions, not through the Bush/Cheney manufactured military commissions, but within the criminal justice system; Not with dubious confessions obtained through torture, but from the testimony of eyewitnesses.
While the volume keeps getting cranked up in some quarters demanding that Obama prosecute members of the Bush administration for knowingly and intentionally engaging in illegal acts, (not to mention immoral at a hundred different levels), everyone needs to be aware that it's probably far too early to go wading in that pool.
Obama is no idiot. As the memos continue to be released and the facts continue to accumulate, Obama will continue to hold off until such a time as the evidence is overwhelming, any defence would be ineffective, and screeching remnants of the Bush cargo culture (Limbaugh, Malkin, et al) have so completely impeached themselves that the demand for prosecution of Bush administration principals will suit both the popular need for cleansing and occur in a favourable political climate.
There will be prosecutions. Just, not now. They will happen when the current cheerleaders of those who perpetrated crimes have no audience, and instead of energetically defending their Bush/Cheney heros they are forced to hang their heads and mutter in their own defence, "We didn't know."
Friday, April 17, 2009
Waking Up Canadian . . . .
I say we give Rachel citizenship along with her brother . . . .
(Cross-posted from Moved to Vancouver)
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Tattooing an "L" on Chris Matthews forehead
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Air America Radio host Rachel Maddow injected a branding iron into the room full of extended lower lips at MSNBC. The bag-full of pundits, having mis-read the New Hampshire primary so badly that they possessed not an ounce of credibility were actually talking about, not how they got it so wrong, but what someone did to screw up their predictions.
So, Rachel laid it all out and got right into Tweety's face.
BUCHANAN: My guess is this: the New Hampshire voters said ‘look the press has been telling us Obama is the second coming. We don’t think so. The press has been telling us she’s gone.” And the women came out and said, “no, she’s not.” What New Hampshire did was stand up and body slam the national establishment, the press corps, the pollsters, the whole bunch who came in here as well as Barack Obama’s folks, who must be in a state of shock tonight.
MADDOW: Pat, I will tell you that on the influential-influential, perhaps, on the left-website Talking Points Memo today, you want to know who they’re blaming for women voters breaking for Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama, who they’re blaming for this late showing and a big vote for Hillary Clinton? They’re blaming Chris Matthews. People are citing specifically Chris-not only for his own views but also for…as symbol of what the mainstream media has done to Hillary Clinton.
MATTHEWS: What website is this?
MADDOW: This is Talking Points Memo dot com. And it’s a…it’s a…you’re being cited anecdotally, not specifically…
MATTHEWS: My influence over American politics looms over the people. I’m overwhelmed myself.
MADDOW: People feel the media is piling on Hillary Clinton and they’re coming to her defense with their vote.
Which would put the pundits in the same busted chuck wagon as the Republicans. It is becoming knowns as The Tweety Effect.
An interesting note is that Tweety gave the impression that he was not aware of TPM. (As in... it's a blog... can't have any influence... must shut this down now... ).
Tweety, after all, has a pretty short set of bookmarks.
Video at Crooks and Liars.